Chiyou

is a legendary Chinese sovereign and cultural hero who is considered in Chinese mythology to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese. He was one of the legendary Five Emperors. He was mentioned in the Shiji by historian Sima Qian (145 BCE-90 BCE). Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697 BC to 2597 BC. His personal name was said to be 치우. He emerged as a chief deity of Taoism during the Baedalguk (202 BCE-220 CE). Among his many accomplishments, Chi You has been credited with the invention of the metalogy.

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The founding of Shinshi State is described in somewhat different ways according to the records.(see #Description of Shinshi in Historical Records). Hwandan-Gogi says that Shinshi state had been founded at the area of Baekdu Mountain and Amur River for giving a maximum service of benefit to the people. The capital city was called Shinshi. The legend says that Hwanin (환인,桓因) gave three presents of Cheon Boo and Ihn to Hwanung (환웅,桓雄), and three thousand people had descended from heaven with Hwanwoong to the area of birch trees. Shinshi state was also known as Guri, and its borders were said to have reached the Shandong Peninsula in modern-day China. The greatest and most renowned of the Shishi state's Emperors was Jaoji Hwanung of Baedal, known better as Emperor Chi-Woo, who was described as a brilliant military leader and strategist. It was during the time of Emperor Chi-Woo that the empire reached its greatest extent. The Shinshi state most likely disintegrated due to internal struggles, and probably fell to neighboring nations.

In addition, there were three imperial families in the Shinshi state, which were Sinsi, Gosi and Chiwoo. Thus, these three families became emperor in the Shinshi state alternatively. The descendants of these three families, thereafter, were divided into nine tribes, which is so called Kuhwan (Gu means nine in Korean). Kuhwan means the nine tribes from Hwanguk, which was a legendary nation of Korea. The word of Kuhwan is sometimes transliterated into other words such as Kuryeo(구려,九黎), Kuyi(구이,九夷) and Koryeo (고려,高黎 or 高麗). Eventually, the words of Kuryeo and Koryeo are the origin of "Korea." There were three representatives of Shinshi state who are Poongbaek , Woosa and Woonsa. The Shinshi state assigned Five Ministers; Wooga managed agriculture, Maga managed the life of people, Guga managed a penalty, Jeoga managed disease, Yangga managed good and evil. These designation names of Five Ministers were quoted from animal names, and they are used as designation names of Ministers in Gojoseon and Buyeo.

Shinshi state was succeeded by Gojoseon. Someone assumes that another major legacy of the Shinshi state is the Goguryo. As mentioned earlier, Shinshi was also called Guri, and the word "Goguryeo" can be broken down into Go-Guri, meaning Go(high), Guri. Thus, Goguryoe means "the Higher Guri nation." In addition, Goguryeo is also interpreted as the nation of Guri or Guryeo governed by the family of "Go" because "Go" is the family name of Goguryeo. Indeed, It is written in Samguk Sagi that Goguryeo recovered most of the lost territories previously lost.

It may be considered the first war in the world history. When Chiwoo became an emperor, Yoomang (楡罔), who was a descendant of Shennong, was a king in the nation of Shennong. At that time, the nation of Shennong became powerful because the population increased so much. So, the emperor Chiwoo had a plan to attack the nation of Shennong, and prepared bows, arrows, spears and swords. The emperor Chiwoo built up the troops with nine generals and 81 adjunt generals in Tangnok(涿鹿), and conquered the troops of Yoomang at Kuhon(九渾).

Thereafter, emperor Xuanyuan listened that the emperor Chiwoo became governing the land of Shennong. So, Xuanyuan assembled the troops, and had wars with the emperor Chiwoo for more than 70 times during ten years even though the emperor Chiwoo defeated the emperor Xuanyuan at the entire wars.

Like any other empire in history, the Shinshi state fell as well. The steady decay of the archaic empire began after its golden age under its 14th ruler, Jaoji Hwanung of Baedal. Not much is known about how the empire fell or what the cause was, but Korean historians have inferred that corruption and border conflicts with neighboring barbaric tribes caused the fall. Emperor Geobuldan, the 18th and final ruler of the Shinshi state, ruled for a mere 48 years while a majority of his predecessors were recorded to have ruled for at least over fifty years at the least. Historians have also inferred that the last emperor of Shinshi state was a weak puppet monarch, much like other final rulers of a dynasty. Shinshi state is thought to have followed the same cycle of rise, height and fall. The last emperor to rule over Shinshi state in its time of imperial glory was Emperor Chook Da-Li of Baedalguk, the 16th ruler of Shinshi state.

In prehistoric China, the tribes of Yellow Emperor rose to power on the plains of Guanzhong and merged with Yan Emperor's tribes following the battle of Banquan. The Huaxia tribes, as the merged tribes were known, spread along the Yellow River towards the East China Sea. The Jiuli tribes, led by Chi You, developed near the present-day borders of Shandong, Hebei, and Henan and expanded towards the west. The Huaxia and Jiuli tribes were in conflict over the fertile land in the Yellow River valley, and thus they fought in the plains of Zhuolu. Chi-You's tribes were fierce in war and skilled at making weapons; allying themselves with the Kua Fu tribe and the Sanmiao (三苗) tribe, they first attacked the Yan Emperor's tribe, driving them into the lands of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor was angered by this and went to war with Chi-You.

The details of the battle are mostly seen as mythical by historians, but if such a battle did exist, these are the events that probably happened: It was said that Chi-You led 72 to 81 tribes against the Huaxia tribes in a thick fog. The Huaxia sent tribes under the totems of the Bear, Pi (羆), Wolf, Leopard, and others in retaliation, but due to the fog, they initially suffered several defeats. To counter the fog, the Yellow Emperor brought forth the South Pointing Chariot (which is essentially a compass), a geared mechanism able to point in one constant direction designed by himself and built for him by the craftsman Fang Bo. In addition, the Xuannü (玄女) tribe helped the Huaxia forces by blowing horns and hitting drums, thus scaring the enemy. The Huaxia forces were ultimately victorious, killing Chi-You in Hebei.

After the battle, the Huaxia tribe settled in the Yellow River plains known as Zhongyuan, and the Yellow Emperor established the Huaxia capital in Zhuolu. The Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor were often credited for allowing the Han Chinese civilization to thrive due to the battle, and many Chinese people call themselves "descendants of Yan and Huang" (炎黃子孫) to this day.

The Jiuli tribe, however, were chased out of the central region of China, and was split into two smaller splinter tribes, the Miao (苗) and the Li (黎). The Miao moved southwest and the Li moved southeast as the Huaxia race expanded southwards. During the course of Chinese history, the Miao and the Li were regarded as "barbarians" by the increasingly technologically and culturally advanced Han Chinese. Some fragments of the races were assimilated into the Chinese during the Zhou Dynasty.

Yet, in other versions of post-Jiuli, the people of Jiuli fragmented in 3 different directions. It is said Chi-You had 3 sons, and after the fall of Jiuli, his oldest son led some people south, his middle son led some people north, and his youngest son remained in Zhuolu and was assimilated into the Huaxia culture. Those who were led to the south established the Sanmiao nation. Perhaps due to this splitting into multiple groups, many Far Eastern people regard Chi-You as their ancestor, and by the same token, many question the ethnicity of Chi You as exclusively Hmong or otherwise. The Koreans also acknowledge Chi-You as an ethnic ancestor. Chi-You is also regarded as one of China's forefathers alongside the ethnic Han ancestors, Huang and Yan.